Press

For Immediate Release: May 13, 2015

Contact:
Christina DiPasquale, christina@fitzgibbonmedia.com, (202) 716-1953
Anna Zuccaro, anna@fitzgibbonmedia.com, (914) 523-9145

NARAL Pro-Choice America, CREDO Action, Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Ultraviolet Deliver 224k Petitions to Speaker Boehner Blasting House Republicans for Their Obsession With Abortion Bans Delivery Follows Press Call Earlier Today with NARAL Pro Choice-America, Planned Parenthood Action Fund and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists on the Latest Congressional Efforts to Ban Abortion at 20 Weeks.

Today, NARAL Pro-Choice America, CREDO Action, Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Ultraviolet delivered more than 224,000 petitions to Speaker Boehner blasting him and his anti-women’s health colleagues in the House for their obsession with banning abortion and restricting women’s health care choices.

The reality, which is lost on anti-choice lawmakers, is that abortion later in pregnancy is rare and often happens under complex circumstances — the kind of situations where a woman and her doctor need every medical option available.

• Nearly 99 percent of abortions in the U.S. occur before 20 weeks.
• Abortions later in pregnancy may involve rare, severe fetal abnormalities and serious risks to the woman’s health.
• Doctors oppose these laws because they prevent them from giving their patients the best health care possible in an individual situation.
• There is no medical justification for a 20-week abortion ban.
• A solid 60 percent of voters oppose 20-week bans when they understand the real-world impact these laws would have and 62 percent of Republican voters have said Congress should not be focused on a 20-week abortion ban.
• The majority of voters in key congressional districts (56-61 percent) will be less likely to vote for the representative if they vote in favor of the 20-week abortion ban.
• 7 in 10 registered voters do not support any limitation of abortion access

“Americans have said time and again that they don’t want politicians inserting themselves in vital reproductive- health care decisions,” said Ilyse Hogue, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America. “The audacity of anti-choice politicians in trying to pass a bill so harmful to women’s health during Women’s Health Week is appalling. When our elected representatives willfully ignore the voices of a majority of their constituents, they can and will lose their seats. With all of the dangers confronting this nation, politicians should be trying to solve old ones—not create new ones.”

“At Planned Parenthood Action Fund, our top priority is to make sure that every woman can make her own medical decision and has access to high-quality health care. While no woman should have to justify her personal medical decisions, the reality is that abortion later in pregnancy is extremely rare and often happens under complex circumstances,” said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund. “We’ve seen what happens when politicians interfere in deeply personal medical decisions and tie doctors’ hands. In states that have passed laws like this, some women and their families have been put into unimaginable situations, needing to end a pregnancy for serious medical reasons but unable to do so. This bill is really part of a much bigger agenda to ban abortion completely, which the American public overwhelmingly opposes. We hope Congress will defeat this misguided, dangerous bill and focus on moving the country forward.”

“When Republicans try to restrict women’s access to abortion, it shows just how out of touch they are with mainstream American values,” said Becky Bond, political director at CREDO Action. “Americans overwhelmingly believe in equality and freedom for women and that includes the freedom to choose.”

“Plain and simple – when politicians introduce inhumane bans on abortions, they are

tying the hands of physicians who want to help couples going through heartbreaking situations like serious fetal anomalies,” said Shaunna Thomas, co-founder of Ultraviolet. “Less than two percent of abortions occur after 20 weeks, and many of them are wanted pregnancies that are just too dangerous or unhealthy to continue. Republicans who want to criminalize women’s reproductive choices after 20 weeks are not making women or our families safer or healthier. We urge Congress to reject this extreme bill and stand up for the rights of American women.”

Earlier today, NARAL Pro-Choice America joined with Planned Parenthood Action Fund and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and laid out the dangers of the bill before the House.

To receive a recording of this call, please email: media.office@ppfa.org

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